The Behind the Racquet with Mike Cation and Noah Rubin
The Behind the Racquet Podcast is the best glimpse you can get in to the ins and outs of professional tennis, told by its players, and voiced by Tennis Star Noah Rubin, and his podcast partner, tennis commentator Mike Cation.
Welcome Back Cation
Mike got back out on the road, so he shares his thoughts on the Challengers in Orlando and Tallahassee.
Then, we get in to your questions, including Jack Sock's future, the difficulties of scheduling....
and then a LOT of you wanted us to discuss Jenson Brooksby. So we did. And hopefully, we have him hop on with us later in the week.
Posted on 27 April 2021
Behind the Racquet with Denis Kudla
Recorded Friday night, Orlando Finalist Denis Kudla joins us to discuss how marriage has changed his life both on and off the court, and given him new perspectives.
He also discusses what he learned from a few days away on Necker Island, learning from Richard Branson.
And.....hockey talk.
Posted on 19 April 2021
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Podcast
Both guys are now on the mend, after Mike gives you the details on his recent medical trauma.
Hoooobi is the champion in Miami. What does it mean for what's popular in tennis?
We debate development routes, focusing on the path taken by Sebastian Korda and how to make it accessible to more people.
And finally, yes, how good is women's tennis right now at the top?
Posted on 7 April 2021
Exploring the complexities of being an Asian-American on Tour with Thai-Son Kwiatkowski
After Jeremy Lin's comments recently about being an Asian-American in the NBA, we wanted to explore the same topic in the tennis world, and we brought on Thai-Son Kwiatkowski to dissect the issue. It's never a comfortable discussion, but a pretty damned crucial one.
We also, unexpectedly, went in to some rather deep discussions on the mental health difficulties Thai has faced, and that MANY players on tour are facing, especially those 150+ in the rankings.
As always, we REALLY appreciate your support, texts, tweets, DMs, and all through this last year. Hope we have some more interactions soon!
Posted on 25 March 2021
Yea?
After food poisoning wrekt Noah for a week, the boys get back together to mark one year in to the pandemic and still survival mode in terms of the structure at the top of tennis. Where's the cohesion?
Benoit Paire's comments about a lack of passion for the current state of the ATP drew a lot of attention, but was he right?
The ATP put out an infographic this week, claiming that players ranked 100-250 made 60% more money from August to February than they had a year before. That can't be right, can it Noah?
Thanks to all of our patreon supporters! You can further the cause by visiting patreon.com/behindtheracquetpod.
Posted on 15 March 2021
Tara Moore and ITF Inequality
The pandemic has been difficult for the entire tennis community, and has been well documented. But when @annak4ever posted a graphic this week about the lack of "Challenger level" opportunities for women (just 3 tournaments in the 60-100K prize range from January through March!), it really opened Mike's eyes to the incredible lack of upward mobility available right now on the women's side.
There's no one better qualified to talk about it than Tara Moore. The 28 year old Brit is a member of the ITF Player Panel, and with a current ranking around 200, is one of the players directly impacted by a lack of tournaments with sufficient points to improve her rankings. She walks us through some of the challengers both personally, and globally, for women outside the top 75 in the world.
As always, a huge thank you to our patreon sponsors. You can help by visiting patreon.com/behindtheracquetpod.
Posted on 1 March 2021
Noah's Quarter Life Crisis
It's Noah's 25th birthday, so the boys get together to celebrate, recap the AO, and recap the last several weeks on multiple different levels.
-Novak's GOAT status
-Naomi's GOAT status
-Brady and Aslan and what it means for "Challenger players"
-Why didn't Noah play last week.
Love from us to you. We appreciate you, very much.
Posted on 22 February 2021
Behind the Racquet with National Champion Will Blumberg
Thanks so much for the support of the Behind the Racquet Podcast. You can help by visiting patreon.com/behindtheracquetpod.
This week's guest is 23 year old Will Blumberg, who won a national title with his North Carolina Tar Heel teammates at the ITA Division 1 Men's National Indoor Championships in Champaign. His pro career got delayed by covid, but it's just around the corner. We'll talk about that transition, his prolonged collegiate career, and his relationships with some of the best in the game.
Posted on 15 February 2021
Behind the Racquet with Luke Saville
Luke Saville and his partner Max Purcell won seven Challenger doubles titles in 2019, and moved up around 30 spots in the ATP rankings. But they received a much deserved wild card to the 2020 Australian Open, and fought their way to a Grand Slam final.
One year later, the 27 year old (HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAV!) prepares to defend those points in next week's AO; but first, he's part of Team Australia in this week's ATP Cup. It's his first international team appearance for Australia since Junior Davis Cup, when he was one of the two or three most feared players in his age group.
Sav breaks down his career, his intent with singles and doubles, and the difficulties of opportunity on the doubles side.
Big thanks to our latest patreon sponsor Keith. You can help support the cause at patreon.com/behindtheracquetpod
Posted on 1 February 2021
Behind the Racquet with Stefan Kozlov
When Noah Rubin and Stefan Kozlov met in the Wimbledon 2014 final, it was thought to be one of the many steps in the progression for Stefan Kozlov, at the tender age of 16. Later that year, he knocked off his first top 100 player in Tim Smyczek, on the way to a CHALLENGER FINAL in Sacramento.
Some good runs at ATP events followed, a couple Challenger titles, and then he suddenly just slowly receded away from high level tennis. It's been nearly four years since his last final, but Koz sounds like he's found a path. The 22 year old joined Noah and Mike for a reflection on his last few years.
